Dental floss-holder.



J. P. LocKE. DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER. APPLIOATIOH PILED JULY'13, 1908.

91 1,664. Patented Feb. 9,. 1909.

JAMES P. LOOKE, OF TOLEDO, OI-IIO.

DENTAL FLOSS-IIOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

`Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

l Application filed. July 13, 1908. Serial No. @43,257

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. Lookin, a citi- Zen of the United States, Vresiding at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio,

'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dental Floss-Holders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. Y

The practice of usingdentists floss for the purpose of removing foreign substances from between the teeth is, as is well understood, highly beneficia A familiar difficulty encountered in such use of this floss and one which prevents its more general employment for this purpose is that when the two extremities of the piece of floss are held in the users two hands one of the hands or a large portion thereof, must be placed in the users mouth, usually to his nolittle discomfort.

My invention relates to and its object is to provide means for overcoming the diffi culty and objection here pointed out. I attain this object by means of the devices, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whiche- Figure l is a side-elevation ofmy device, and Fig. 2, a sectional end-elevation of the same taken on a vertical line through the axis of the spool hereinafter referred to.

Like arts are indicated by corresponding numera s in both views.

In the drawings, l is a spool of the usual construction for dentists fioss, consistin of two thin sheet metal disks secured toget er at their center and spaced slightly apart to receive the windings of the thread. At the axis of the spool is an opening or opposed depressions in the outer sides of the two metal disks. A spring-fork or clip bestrides the spool, and its converging arms 2-2 engage the central opening or depressions at the center of the spool by means of indentations 3-3 in the arms 2 whichV indentations engage the corresponding indentations or opening at the center of the spool and form a pivot or journal upon .which the spool may be revolved. At their central or meeting point the two arms of the clip are bent to forma cylindrical opening parallel with the plane ofthe spool, as at il. In this opening is secured by means of rivets 5, or otherwise,

' a tube 6 one end of which is disposed, as at 7 in alinement `with the annular space between the two disks formingl the spool, the other end being curved,as at 8. 9 is wound in the usual manner upon the spool and is threaded from the spool in through the end 7 of the tube 6 and out through the end 8.

A thread of floss rlhe operation of my device is as follows:

rThe desired amount of thread being drawn through the tube from the spool, the spool and the clip and the tube together now form a holder 'which is held in one hand so that the spool cannot revolve, and the outer end of the threadis held in the other hand. Now the curved extremity 8 ofthe tube 6 is placed in the mouth, inside the rows of teeth, at exactly the roper place, and with the hand and the tu e the thread is pressed and drawn between the teeth as may be desired. The tube and the spring clip are sufficiently heavy and rigid to withstand a considerable strain and the thread may by the means here described be forced laterally through` extremely narrow spaces.

INhile I have shown a tube as a means for guiding the thread, it will be obvious that other means may be employed for this purpose, as,-for instance,-a hat or round bar grooved and having overlapping fingers or anges. Or,-instead of a tube,-a sheet metal blank may be rolled spirally to form an open tube spiral in cross-section.

Various ways will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art for securing the tube and the fork together and for journaling the spool upon the fork. I do not, therefore, limit my construction to the specific forms here, byway of illustration, described.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

In a device of the described character, a spool, a holder for the spool comprising a pair of opposed spring-arms adapted to clasp and to revolubl Support the spool therebetween, and a tube havmg lts mno? and mounted In testimony whereof :LX mysgnzttmo 111 presence of two umass/es.

- 'YAMFS P. CRF. upon the spool-support and 11s-Vlug a curved Y C J O j outer extremlty, tno arrangement being such N messes:

that a, thead may be guided from the spool ADA E. through the tube to lts outer oxtrenuty. I Plump 

